Hiatus

Hello!

It's been a while since I've posted hasn't it?

Rest assured, I don't think I'll being taking more long breaks any time soon... or if I do it'll only be a few weeks.

In my time away from the blog, I got to thinking; why did I start the blog in the first place? What's the purpose of writing and maintaining my little corner of the Internet? I'd been feeling a little uninspired and well, in all honesty, not bothered, and therefore decided that a little break was needed. I tried writing countless posts, none of which I thought were good enough to be published. But, hey! Now I'm back!

Quite a few things happened while I was away, such as me getting a job (hello money!!!), discovering that my music taste is seasonal (kinda weird, I know) and the weather getting warmer (yes, summer is just around the corner and I'm more excited than ever). In the next few weeks, I'll hopefully have more posts published for you all so keep your eyes open!

p.s. don't forget to follow me on instagram for quick little updates :) @katwithablog

Winter Essentials

In all honesty, I kind of like winter. I don't like the miserable, grey sky, but I do like the fact that I can wear fifty layers of clothing and no one can stop me. I also like snuggling up and watching a movie or taking long, warm baths and I also like that your clothes don't stick to you as they do in summer. Due to my love for winter, I though I'd make a quick winter essentials post. Below are a few of my must-haves for this season!

1. A good pair of jeans

Jeans are honestly one of my all time favourites.  They're the easiest thing to throw on and can easily be dressed up or down. They're warm and versatile and they come in so many colours and styles it's crazy! Although you really only need one good pair, they're extremely easy to get carried away with (I may or may not own 5 pairs) so beware. A few of my favourite places to get jeans from are: 

- Topshop

- Zara

- General Pants for Lee and Wrangler

2. A coat

Coats are perfect for throwing on. They'll keep you warm and looking great and they're so easy to wear. They're more on the dressy side so they're perfect for a night out or a lunch. They also look really nice when they're layered with a jumper or a knit underneath. My favourite shops for coats are:
- Zara
- Myer

3. Jumpers (lots of them)
Jumpers are my go-to in winter. They're easy to chuck on, just like jeans and coats (I'm sensing a pattern here) and they come in so many different varieties that you can never have too many. I like cable knits and oversized jumpers the best, although turtle necks are slowly growing on me and I find that they look best when styled with jeans or underneath a coat. You can  get a good jumper from pretty much anywhere, so it's just a matter of hunting the right one down!

4. Chelsea Boots
You've probably seen me mention Chelsea Boots in some of my posts, mostly because I'm absolutely in-love with them, but it's no surprise that they're making their way into my winter essentials list. They're a really classic shoe and, in my opinion, can never go out of fashion. Another positive is that they're not exclusive to winter like coats and jumpers are, you can also wear them in summer. Just trade jeans for shorts and you're good to go! I'm still on the lookout for the perfect pair, but I'll definitely let you guys know when I've found them.

5. Moisturiser and Lip Balm
Winter has the tendency to dry out my skin and my lips, so moisturisers and lip balms are essential. My lips get cracked really easily, so I always have some lip balm handy. My face also becomes quite dry if I don't moisturise regularly, so after I wash my face in the mornings, I always apply moisturiser. My favourite brands for moisturise are:
- Neutrogena
- Palmer's
- SugarBaby (from Myer or David Jones)
My favourite brand for lip balm is:
- Lucas' Papaw Ointment

Playlist #2

A little while ago, I made a post of the songs/albums that I'd been loving. This post is just a quick update of tunes that I've been enjoying recently!

1. Where Did The Party Go - Fall Out Boy
2. High School Never Ends - Bowling For Soup
3. Rejects - 5 Seconds of Summer
4. Go To Hell - Go Radio
5. Mr Brightside - The Killers
6. If You Were a Movie This Would Be Your Soundtrack (Album) - Sleeping With Sirens
7. A Love Like War - All Time Low ft. Vic Fuentes
8. Kiss Me Again - We Are The In Crowd ft. Alex Gaskarth
9. Teenagers - My Chemical Romance
10. Meet the Vamps (Album) - The Vamps
11. The Rest of Us - Simple Plan
12. Carpe Diem - You Me At Six
13. Bite My Tongue - You Me At Six ft. Oli Sykes
14. Love Like This (Album) - The Summer Set
15. Beekeeper's Daughter - The All-American Rejects
16. 5 Seconds of Summer (Album) - 5 Seconds of Summer
17. Kissing in Cars - Pierce the Veil
18. I'm Sorry... (Album) - The Neighbourhood
19. I Love You. (Album) - The Neighbourhood
20. Outlines - All Time Low

"Don't Waste Your Youth Growing Up"

With my birthday soon approaching, I've been thinking a lot; mostly about how I'm going to spend or save my birthday money, but thinking nonetheless. It's kind of just occurred to me that time flies, and I mean it really flies. It seems like it was 2007 a few years ago, hell I'm still not over the fact that we're practically half-way through the year (New Years Eve was only like a week ago, I swear). I often look too far ahead. I worry about the problems I might face in a few months rather than deal with the ones I'm currently facing (yes maths exam, I'm looking directly at you) and I think that sometimes it does more harm than good; especially when I'm so focused on looking towards my future after high school and uni, and less focused on the fact that I'm never going to be the same age ever again. I spend a lot of time dreaming about my life when I'm older; where I'll be living, who my friends will be, what job I'll have, the usual stuff, but it's easy to get caught up in your future and not think about your present. Maybe I should stop being so focused and so worried on growing up and just slow down and enjoy my 'youth'. I mean, never will I ever be 13 again, or 14, or 15, or 16. A lot of the time, I wish that I was older, that I could do whatever I want, whenever I want and that I could drive and go to however many concerts I wanted to. I wish that I could move out and travel with my friends and that I wouldn't have to wake up every day to face 6 hours at school. However, I'm only going to be young for so long and I only have a few more years left at high school so I might as well enjoy them and not wish them away; and as my parents keep reminding me, growing up comes with a lot of responsibilities (most of which I'm not too psyched about aka paying rent and bills). So, my half-yearly resolution (is that a thing? It is now anyway) is to enjoy right now and not wish for anything different and hopefully, unlike my new year's resolution, I'll stick to it.

Fashion Weekend #2

I recently made a 'Fashion Weekend #1' post, so here's part 2!

As I mentioned before, I managed to bag a couple of good bargains on the weekend, one of them being a red turtle neck from Otto Mode. Turtle necks, like Birkenstock's, are coming back in fashion, especially for the winter season (it's like a top and a scarf all in one, yes please). I was never a big fan of turtle necks, mostly because I wasn't sure how to style them. However, now that I've seen a few ways to wear them, they're slowly growing on me. The neck on this top is pretty short for a turtle neck (it isn't the classic chunky, high neck) but I still classify it as a turtle neck nonetheless.

The top was originally $50, but it was marked down to $25. Who doesn't love 50% off?










Another great bargain I found was a Glasshouse candle marked down from $50 to $10. It smells so so so good and I can't wait to get it burning. The pretty snowflake pattern also matches the oncoming winter (which starts in roughly a week and bit, ew).

Fashion Weekend #1

Hi everyone! Just a quick update because a few good things have been happening lately. Like this morning, I found $2 in my jacket pocket; that was pretty great. I also went to 5SOS' gig at Enmore Theatre and was in the mosh pit (3 people from the front heck yeah) and I met heaps of new people; being pressed against someone's back has that effect on you. It was honestly one of the best nights of my life. My dad also just got back from a business trip to India and brought back some presents (all hail) and I've also finished my last round of NAPLAN (I can hear the angels singing). Oh yeah, and my friend, Lara, and I attended Sydney Fashion Weekend yesterday. I think it's fair to say that May has been good to me.

Now onto the main reason for this post, Fashion Weekend. For those of you who may not know, Fashion Weekend is basically an event that's centred around bargain designer shopping and a few other perks, such as the runway show. It was a great day and I managed to bag heaps of bargains and also got quite a few free goodies (magazines mostly). The event was present by 'SHOP 'til you drop' magazine, therefore it only made sense that they'd give us a bag full of free magazines (including two of my favourites, Elle and Harper's Bazaar), all of which were so heavy I felt like my arms were going to fall off. I literally shopped until I dropped. The fashion show had a great line-up too, including Bec & Bridge, Maurie & Eve,Christensen Copenhagen and Ginger & Smart.

This was one of my favourite looks from the show. I'm absolutely in-love with the coat.

p.s. this won't be the only post about Fashion Weekend (hence the #1), so keep your eyes peeled!

Missing in Action

I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. It's hard to keep up with blogging, school and sport, but I'm trying my best. This weekend I'm attending Fashion Weekend in Sydney, so I'll be sure to make a post about that. I've also got some exciting ideas for the blog that will hopefully be coming up in the next few weeks, so keep a lookout.

Oh, and don't forget to follow my Instagram: @katwithablog

p.s. For everyone who has exams/assessments coming up: good luck xx